New Dean at the Oslo Academy of Fine Art

The Danish curator and art historian Stine Hebert has been appointed to the position as dean at the Oslo Academy of Fine Art, announced the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO) today. The fixed-term position runs for four years.

– With her simultaneously Nordic and international profile, her respect for and keen interest in the Norwegian art scene, and her focus on artistic research she will be a highly valuable addition to our team as the Oslo National Academy of the Arts enters a new strategy period, says rector Jørn Mortensen in a press release.

A graduate of the University of Copenhagen and Goldsmiths College in London, Hebert currently holds a position as curator at Malmö Konstmuseum. Previous positions include the post as acting director of Baltic Art Centre in Visby and curator at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen.

She also has management experience from the educational sector. From 2013 until the autumn of 2015 she was rector of The Funen Art Academy in Odense. However, she resigned from this position when the local authorities (Odense Kommune) launched negotiations aimed at merging the academy with Syddansk Universitet without having given the art academy the opportunity to take part in the decision-making process.

Still from Krabstadt film – Whaled Women by Ewa Einhorn and Jeuno JE Kim, who contributed to the group show Den nordiska modellen®, co-curated by Stine Hebert for Malmö Konstmuseum in 2013.

Hebert may well run into challenges in her future job, too. In a working environment survey undertaken in 2016, the Oslo Academy of Fine Art scored very low compared to other departments at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts within fields such as social climate, personal conflicts and confidence in the management. The vacant post as dean was posted in the autumn of 2016 when it was announced that Vanessa Ohlraun, who took up the position in 2011, wished to move on to become rector of the Braunschweig University of Art. Ohlraun had, however, been released from her duties since February 2016, and Kunstkritikk has previously inquired whether this was caused by conflicts at the Academy of Fine Art, which was refuted by academy rector Mortensen.
Stine Hebert will take up her new position on 1 August 2017. Until that point, artist Hege Nyborg will deputise as dean.

– I am greatly looking forward to taking on my new duties as dean and to exploring the future of the Oslo Academy of Fine Art together with students and staff, says Hebert in the press release.

– Contributing to the Oslo National Academy of the Arts’ focus on artistic research will be very exciting for me, and I consider it a great privilege to be able to work at such a crucial platform for the young and emerging art scene in Norway.

At Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the shows curated by Stine Hebert included The Eros of Understanding by Rose English in 2014. Rose on Horseback with Tail, 1974.

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